The Witch of CareALot
by Patient Heart
Summary: Patient Heart wants nothing more than to be a regular Care Bear Cousin. This sure ain't gonna help...
1. Chapter 1

_Sorry it took me so long to bring Patient's new story up. It was a baaaaad case of writer's block trying to come up with a good start to this story. Hope you guys enjoy it! As always, The Care Bears, with the exception of Patient and Mystic Heart, are not mine. _

_Medieval Times_

The women rushed about the large room, grabbing up the books, scrolls and papers that still remained. Outside, the all-too-familar clang of metal on metal as yet another army made its advance on the small fortress. The soldiers had been met by the mistresses' loyal guards, and while they valiantly refused to yield, the small force could only hope to slow the inevitable breach of the castle walls. Theirs was a special cause that leant a kind of desperation to their will to fight--their mistresses were not mere humans. They were in fact a pair of witches, deemed with protecting a vast magical archive. Since the unfortunate discovery of the archive by the warlords, the castle had been under an almost constant seige by one army or another, armies that longed for a magical advantage in their pointless, neverending wars.

As the two hurried to complete thier task, the shorter of the two tripped, scattering her load of literature across the stone floor. As she picked herself up, her robes fell open, revealing the symbol on her abdomen. A heart with a witch's hat upon it, with magic swirling around it. The taller of them rushed over to help her up.

"As hurried as we are dear, we mustn't damage anything in the process." The tall one joked. "Keeping the archive out of the hands of those who would abuse it does not necessarily mean destroying it."

"My apologies." The shorter one dusted herself off, tied her robes closed again, and fixed her pointed hat upon her head. "Wolves enjoy a reputation as somewhat graceful creatures. It appears I am the exception."

The tall one smiled. "You make yourself an exception merely by the way you walk and speak."

The two probably would have continued the conversation, had a servant not burst into the rapidly emptying room. "They have broken through! They are inside the castle!"

The wolf witch sighed. "Then it is a good thing we are nearly finished." She watched as a large book floated through a swirling portal in the bookcase and disappeared. "Is that the last of it?"

"Indeed it is. Now only one thing remains." Turning to face her friend, the human witch slowly raised her wand. "Are you ready?"

"Ready or not, if I am to remain hidden, I must be as inconspicuous as possible."

The human's smile faded. Despite the situation, she was in no hurry to say goodbye. As the wand glowed a bright green, she spoke one last time to her friend. "Take care, Mystic Heart."

As the wandlight faded, the wolf began to glow. As the light faded from her, the 3 foot tall anthropomorphic wolf was gone. In her place, a pure white, regular wolf stood. Before she bounded out the window, she turned back to her friend. "And you take care as well."

She was out moments before the soldiers crowded in, tossing the poor servant out of the doorway. "What have you done with the archive!" a particularly rough-looking captain demanded.

The witch said nothing. She merely smiled as she was led out of the now-empty Archive.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Witch of Care-A-Lot**

Chapter One: What is She?

A cool spring breeze whistled through the training ground of the Forest of Feelings, chilling an already exhausted (and impatient) Grumpy Bear for what seemed (to him) the millionth time. Putting his discomfort aside temporarily, he watched as his newest student prepared to practice her newfound stare. "Alright, Patient Heart." He said, stifling a groan. "One more shot, and then I _really _think we oughta call it a day."

The meter-tall white wolf turned her head towards her instructor, eyes twinkling, lips pulled into a teasing smile. "You can go if you like." She stated. "I suppose it is getting a little chilly out here. As for me, I'm gonna practice 'till I get this right." Bracing herself against a sturdy tree trunk, she closed her eyes and thought back to her battle with No Heart. The familiar feelings came rushing back as clearly as they did that day: Fear. Love. And the intense, instinctive desire to protect her new family. Grumpy watched as a bright, warm blue light appeared in her tummy symbol. Unlike his or any of the other's stares though, Patient's light began to spread until her entire body was glowing like an angel. As she opened her now glowing, pupilless eyes, she squinted, focusing on the blurry image of a target on the far side of the grounds. When she could feel the power about to burst, she cried out: "Care…Bear…Blast!"

A huge beam of light erupted from her symbol.

_It's on target!_

Or so she thought.

The beam cleared the target by a mere half-foot, creating a thunderous boom as it snapped the tops of the trees in its path before arching into the sky. As the glow faded from her body, she turned toward Grumpy Bear, jumping up and down with excitement. "Didja see it?!" she was so excited, she couldn't get the words out fast enough. "Didja see me? I know I did it this time!"

Speechless, the short blue bear pointed at the new haircut the Forest had been given. For a hundred yards beyond the target, there was a six-foot wide path of smoldering tree stumps. "You know, Patient Heart." Grumpy finally managed to breathe out the words. "At first I thought we should work on that incredible power of yours. "But maybe your _aim _is the bigger issue here."

"Just let me keep practicing, and I'll get it right, I promise!"

"No way!" He pointed to two similar tracks blasted into the treeline. I don't know that the Forest of Feelings can take any more of your practice sessions!"

Stunned, Patient stared at Grumpy, clear sapphire-blue eyes blinking back the tears that would have been the only evidence of his thoughtless comment. "I-I guess you're right, Grumpy Bear." She managed. _Please, voice, don't start breaking up on me now. _"I'm probably doing more harm than good here." With that, she shuffled out of the practice clearing. Although her head was held high and level, Grumpy could just make out a few muffled sobs.

"Aw, good going, Grumpy." He kicked at the ground, sending a small puff of cloud flying. "Here comes the guilt trip. They oughta start calling me 'Tact Bear' after this." As he started after Patient, he heard a low, rumbling growl from the treeline. Eyes pointed at the ground, he refused to look at the source. "You can come out now, Loyal Heart."

A blue dog, slightly taller than Grumpy, stormed out from the treeline toward him, a less-than-pleased look on his face. He stopped mere inches from the bear, eyes betraying an intense anger. "Was it quite necessary to tear her down like that?"

"I wouldn't have had to, had you shown up here to train her yourself like you were supposed to." Grumpy shot back. "We all know how you feel about her. When are you gonna stop hiding from her and tell her how you feel?" A thought struck him, and he smiled, a sneaky, diabolical smile. "Or am I gonna have to tell Love a Lot? You'll never hear the end of it then."

"Well I…I…" Loyal Heart stammered, thrown off by the verbal counterattack. "Wait a minute, that's not the point! You'd better go apologize to her! She thinks she's a monster now, thanks to you!"

"I know better than to call her a monster, Loyal Heart." Grumpy pointed toward the splintered remains of the clearing. "But I have yet to see a Care Bear—Or Cousin, for that matter—do anything...like...thaaa—" swaying slightly, he fell face first onto the cloud floor with a poof.


End file.
